Papers of the Week

Acid-sensing ion channels (ASICs) are transmembrane sensors of extracellular acidosis and potential drug targets in several disease indications, including neuropathic pain and cancer metastasis. The K-sparing diuretic amiloride is a moderate nonspecific inhibitor of ASICs and has been widely used as a probe for elucidating ASIC function. In this work, we screened a library of 6-substituted and 5,6-disubstituted amiloride analogs using a custom-developed automated patch clamp protocol and identified 6-iodoamiloride as a potent ASIC1 inhibitor. Follow-up IC determinations in tsA-201 cells confirmed higher ASIC1 inhibitory potency for 6-iodoamiloride (hASIC1 IC = 88 nM, cf. amiloride IC = 1.7 μM). A similar improvement in activity was observed in ASIC3-mediated currents from rat dorsal root ganglion neurons (rDRG single-concentration IC = 230 nM, cf. IC = 2.7 μM). 6-Iodoamiloride represents the amiloride analog of choice for studying the effects of ASIC inhibition on cell physiology.